UMaine Today Winter 2010 by University of Maine

UMaine Today Heat of Battle

Tech Styles

Made in China

Air Check

â&#x20AC;¢

CREATIVITY AND ACHIEVEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

WINTER

22010

Could an energy crop help save Maine farms?

Greener grass

Volume101 lss11e 4 Winter 2010

contents

Growing Alternative

Air Check

Grasspelletshavethe potentialto establisha newbioenergy industryin Maine,createa valuablecropfor Mainefarmers and reduceenergycostsfor stateresidents. AndfromwhereAndrew Plantsits in AroostookCounty , there'snotime to waste.

Theradiowasoncea central fixture in almostevery Americanhome.But today,the originalpractical ity and necessi ty of AM broadcasting are thingsof t he past.For MichaelSocolow,the historical perspect ive of radio putsin contexttoday'sdiscussions about tomorrow's media choices.

Made in China

Fathoming Ocean Science

A BuriedTreasure

LaurieHicksis partof a teamof researchers workingto makeChineseart formsmoreaccessible to an Engtishspeakingaudience. Thispastsummer, she workedasa documentary photographer for ChinaVine.org, a collectivethat brings Chinesecultureto life.

Asfar asshipwrecksgo, there wasnothing fancyaboutthe vessel foundthis summer in NewYork City. Yetwhen Warren Riessexaminedthe boat,what hefoundwasmore remarkable than anythinghecould havediscovered abouta warship, oceanliner or piratevessel.

Satellitescollect datathat aren'teasy to explain,andthat's whereAnnette deCharoncomesin. Her job is to help the publicunderstandwhy monitoring seasurfacesalinity is criticalfor NASA and society asa whole.

nIine umainetoday.umaine.edu In UMaineTodaymagaz ine, +Online indicatesthe availabilityof additional content - Web-exclus ive stories,videoandaudio clips,photo galleries, fulllengthversions of articles,answers to questionsposedto our Inthe Know experts,and a comprehensive editorial archive.

In the Know

LenardKayeon the increasing legalneedsof olderadults.

AlanMajkaon children's activitiesandnutrition to curbobesity.

President's Message ANNUALLY SINCE 2008, the

Maine Technology Institute has funded 35 research, development and commercialization projects that will lead to significant economic benefits for the state. Sixty percent of those funded projects have been based at the University of Maine. This fall, in the third round of Maine Technology Asset Fund awards, half of the 10 projects are UMaine-based . One will create a high-performance computing resource for economic development, research

and education. Another will aid in the commercialization

Heat of Battle

of new technologies for animal disease surveillance in

In the heatof battle,the interpretation and perception of proper militaryconductcanvary greatly,depend ing on whetheryou'reon the front linesor on the homefront. Thedilemmas aretimeless, whether talkingaboutthe ongoingconflictin Iraq andAfghanistan or a turn-of-the-century war in SouthAfrica,according to Britishmilitaryhistorian StephenMiller.

Maine and worldwide. An advanced biomechanics laboratory will develop high-tech products for injury reduction and rehabilitation. A fourth funded project will establish a fisheries innovation, sustainability and health lab. The fifth project will construct the first grass pellet demonstration facility in the Northeast. This project has the potential to be an economic development boon to

2 departments Connection

Alumni Focus

Student Focus

Insights

Maine, creating an alternative energy industry, jobs and a lower-cost fuel source, and helping save Maine farms. One of the driving forces behind this project, whose story we're proud to tell in these pages, is Andrew Plant. A Fort Fairfield, Maine, native and UMaine graduate, Andrew is a creative, effective Cooperative Extension professional whose efforts are making a tremendous difference in Maine communities, just like the one where he grew up.

Robert A. Kennedy President Photo gallery Mapping FormerGlaciersGraduate studentAaronPutnam'srecentice agediscoveries in NewZealand. Medical Mission Pre-medstudentJonPelletier on volunteerworkin Peru. Video gallery Maine BlueberriesA three-partserieson UMaine'sresearch-based supportof the industry.

ON THECOVER:Perennial grasses grown as energy crops are the focus of a new alternative fuel project in Maine. Planted in fallow or marginal fields, the grasses could be a muchneeded source of green for farms in northern and central Maine. Read about the research on page 2.

Growing Althern

The state's $1.65

HEN Andrew Plant agri culLural fields sitting

Maine

idle ,

worries that another

farm has gone under. He also envisions an

alternative that could literally and figuratively fuel farms in the slate and give them

a future. That alternative is energy in the form of perennial grasses planted, harvested and sold to make compr essed biofuel pellets. Grass pellets, alsn being studied in Europe and Canada. have the potential ro establish

a new bioenergy indus try in Maine, create a valu abl e crop for Main e farm ers and reduce energy costs

forstate residents.

And from where Plan t sits in Aroos took County -

a vast agricultur al region

in which so many farms have been abandoned in recent decades because of high operating costs -

there's no Lime to wasLe.

"Itt's about findin g an alternative crop Lo improve the economic climate for farmers while developing a resource that can be use d by the ge nera l po pul a ti o n -

Pellets made from perennialgrasses contain natural ligninsthat act as gluingagents, For the additional bindingneeded to improve the energy density,UMaine researchers are exploringthe incorporationof recycled, nonchlorinated plastics,

UMaine Today Winter 2010

ative By MargaretNagle

million investment in grass pellet technology could help save Maine farms economic development and an environ-

scale demonstration facility in Aroostook

the overall economic impact is projected to

mentally friendly, renewable resource," says

County -

the first of its kind in the North-

be more than $500 million annually, possi-

Plant, a University of Maine Cooperative

east. Grass pellets will be beta tested in

bly replacing more than 100 million gallons

Extension

commercial biomass systems in the state.

of home heating oil each year.

educator

based in Houlton.

"Aroostook County has gone from produc-

Several Maine companies have expressed

ing 150,000 acres of potatoes in the 1950s

interest in operating biofuel production

on imported oil," Plant says. "But if we

to 50,000 today. Just driving any of the

facilities and licensing the technology.

consider

"Thisis not just about pellets, but agricultureas a whole. We'resayingwhat is there marginalor fallow farmland in centraland northern Maine- canbe usedin a sustainablefashion."

every dollar involved stays in Maine."

major traffic routes through the county, you see the old farmlands sitting idle, becoming useless or being developed as house lots." For the past two years, Plant has been researching the use of perennial grasses or straw left from small grain rotations as solid fuel crops. The development and commercialization of such sustainable energy crops could give farmers another

source of

income and lower-cost energy.

"We don't see much of the dollars spent something

locally

grown,

harvested, processed and utilized, almost

Now Plant and Michael Bilodeau, direc-

Andrew Plant

tor of UMaine's Process Development

MAINE HAS UPWARD of 200,000 acres in which to produce perennial energy crops without displacing current food production , Plant says. If crop waste, such as straw from grain rotations,

is included,

the

number of acres for energy crops doubles. From a microeconomic

perspective,

grain production in Aroostook County is a drop in the bucket , Plant says. Most of

Center, are spearheading a Biomass Engi-

The pellet and boiler technology will be

neered Fuel Project, a $1.65 million initia-

refined to find what works best in homes .

tive recently

Maine's small grains now are going for livestock feed.

by the Maine

With a commercial demonstration mill in

"In Aroostook County the question is

Technology Asset Fund linking UMaine

Maine , a grass pellet product for household

not food versus fuel, but whether this could

research and development

sales could be possible five years later.

mean the difference between a farmer stay-

funded

with Maine

ing in business (and not), " he says.

fanners, energy consumers, companies and

Aroostook County farms are signing on

entrepreneurs to develop and commercial-

to be "biomass growers ," planting energy

ize biomass fuel. ln the next four years, the

crops as part of their rotations, or on fallow

will

project will focus on the manufacturing

ground they have around the farm.

ing at species studied by the U.S. Depart-

efficiencies of converting energy crops to

grow best in Maine, Plant began look-

say the annual

ment of Energy and Oak Ridge National

solid biofuel, and testing that biofuel for

economic impact of a single commercial

Laboratory in the 1980s and 1990s. Those

performance, combustion efficiency and

pellet mill in north ern Maine is expected to

grasses includ e the superstar of bioen ergy

ultimate commercial potential.

be between $17 million and $23 million.

crops -

With potential for 25 pellet mills statewide,

dense pellets shown

The goal is

prototype a commercial-

UMaine researchers

To determin e which perennial grasses

switchgras s to

that produces

have a 14:1 energy

um ain etoday.umaine .edu

GrowingAlternative

balance. ln other words , for every unit of en ergy it Lakes to produ ce Lhe pelleLs, 14 unit s of energy are gained, through burnin g . By co mparis o n , Lhe 2008 e nerg y balance for the corn-ethanol

industry is

2.3:1, according to the U.S. Department of AgticulLure. There 's also reed canarygrass , a nativ e Maine species known for iLsability to grow high yields in cool seasons. Studies in the north cenLral United Stales and Europe ha ve shown that reed canarygrass can yield 4 tons to 8 tons per acre, dep ending on fertilizaLion regimes. lf replicated in Maine, Plant says, comm ercial production cost estimates are $115 to $130 per ton of pellets -

$5 .50 to $6 .25 per

million British thermal unit (Btu) . Wood pellets average $9.50 per million Btu. Wh e n home heating

oil is S2. 70 a

gallon , Mainers pay $19.50 per million Btu. Compared

with other biofu el crops,

Muchof the perennialgrassfor the BiomassEngineeredFuelProjectwill be grown in AroostookCounty.

perennial grasses conserve soil resour ces, sequester carbon and nitrogen in their root

A large round bale of grass can produc e

The recovered plastics, such as polye th-

systems, and can serve as valuable wildlife

up to 1,400 pounds of pellets, says Plant . It

ylene and polypropylene , certif ied by the

habitat . The perennial grasses have moder-

would tak e an average of 2 to 3 acres of

U .S. Environm ental Prot ect ion Agency to

ate to high productivity , stand long evit y,

grass mad e into pellets to annually heat a

be used as fuel, are highly refined hydrocar-

low nitrogen requirements , and resistance

typical north ern hom e.

to pests and dis eases . They also are well

bons with low levels o f inorganics and high

Th e grasses , like wood, contain natural

Btu values . Recen t work ha s show n that

adapted to marginal farmland and can be

lignin s that act as gluin g agents . For the

bioplastics, such as polylac tic acid, w hich

successfully established in north ern climes.

additional bindin g needed to imp rove the

are difficult to process in conventiona l recy-

energy den s iLy o f grass pelle ts, UMaine

cling operat ions, can also be used in pellets.

And unlike forage crops ha rves ted a couple times a year, energy grasses are cut

researchers

annually at th e peak of maturity. The baled

patented techn ology th at incorporat es recy-

are exp lo rin g the use of

wood, Plant says, but with the plastics as

grass has a moisture content of up Lo 15

cled, nonchlorinat ed plastics.

bind er, they are more energy-dense.

Grass pell e ts m ay burn faster than

percent , compared to upward of 50 percent

Some of these plast ics are even found

However, when burn ed, grass pellets

moislure cont ent of wood, which mandates

on farm s, includin g gree nh ouse film and

tend to be higher in ash content than wood

extensive drying before pelletizing .

hay bale wire.

UMaineToday Winter 2010

u p to 5 percent versus 1 percent. Grass

PLANT GREW UP in an agricultural

happened to spy a weed that also had

community in Fort Fairfield, working on

succumbed to late blight. The annual

farms throughout high school and during

broadleaf, hairy nightshade, is particularly

harvest break

problematic for its ability to harbor diseases

"While my parents didn't have a farm, our backyard was 100 feet from a potato

find, one of the first in Maine, led Plant

field," he says.

into research that resu lte d in his first

He came to UMaine in 1998 to study

published papers.

biology and pursue a career in osteopathic

His master 's and now his dissertation

medicine. He spent his summers working

research focuses on white mold in potatoes,

in integrated

with

a little-studied fungus. Plant hopes to better

crop

understand the effect of the ubiquitous

pest management

UMaine Cooperative

Extension

specialist Jim Dwyer at Aroostook Farm,

pathogen on potato yield and how manage-

the potato research facility of the Maine

ment techniques can control it.

Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station

In 2008, when Plant became an Exten-

in Presque Isle. By his senior year, when he

sion educator, his perspective became even

took a course in plant pathology, Plant

broader. He likens it to being a country

knew his career path had done a 180.

doctor, only in this case, the questions he

"My father always was involved in civic

PhotobyEdwinRemsberg, USDA

and insects, and to resist herbicides. The

fields in the farm pasture or in the grocery

organizations, volunteering and helping

store aisle are related to all aspects of agri-

people," he says. "I wanted to do the same

culture. That includes being ever-vigilant

in the professional setting."

for ways to keep Maine farms healthy.

Plant received his undergraduate degree

That year, when oil hit $150 a barrel,

also has a higher natural chlorine content,

from UMaine in 2002 and began work as

making energy costs another serious prob-

making the pellets more corrosive than

an integrated pest management profes-

lem for farmers, Plant knew he had to look

those made of wood.

sional in Extension's Presque Isle office.

for alternatives. He also was getting calls

In Europe and elsewhere, research is

One of his most memorable calls came

from people who had bought former farm-

for ash

from a grower concerned about lesions on

land and moved to Maine. Their question:

management in boilers and stoves, as well

potato plant leaves . Th at's the year late

What should they do with their 40 acres?

as higher-grade metals that better resist

blight was found in the county

focusing

on new technology

corrosion.

Making one of his first major disease

"Knowing a lot of the farmers I work with, I take their success to heart," he says.

and reco mm end a tions for

"It's difficult to see them struggling. I don't

bullet to solve everything," says Plant. "I

management was a bit nerve-racking, he

want to see anybody fail. A big part of my

think we'll have to be diverse to eliminate

admits, but it solidified his career choice.

research now is trying to find or create new

"A lot of people thtnk there is one silver

diagnoses

fossil fuel use. I relate it to an investment.

"It was so memorable because it showed

and better markets for the nonpotato years

You don't put all your money into one

just how much people's livelihoods depend

during (crop) rotations. Finding profitable

account or stock. It will have to be all cards

on how much we can help," he says.

crop rotations has been the biggest weak

on the table."

In that same potato

field, Plant

point in the potato crop system."

umainelod ay.umaine .edu

HOWTHEHISTORY ,

OF BROADCASTIN

CANINFORM

TOMORROW'S

MEDIACHOICES

AIRCHECK 66

UMaineToday UMaineToday Winter Winter 2010 2010

By GeorgeManlove

"IT'S SAD that AM radio is almost dead," Michael Socolow says,

communication regulation and economics, and the trade-offs, you

partway into a discussion of the evolution of radio broadcasting in

need to have your eyes open in a way I don't think Americans did

the United States.

in the 1920s and 1930s," he says.

"Here in Bangor, Maine, you can occasionally still pull in WJR in Detroit, WTOP in Washington," he says. "Just by doing that,

SOCOLOW HAS SPENT NEARLYTWO decades reading and writ-

you can get a sense of what it was like in the 1920s, the sense of

ing about broadcast and, to some degree, print media. A fonner

radio transporting you to someplace else."

CNN assignment editor covering the news of Southern California,

For more than two decades, until the emergence of television,

including

the O .J. Simpson trial, he also worked for three

the radio was a central fixture in almost every American home .

Olympics broadcasting entities -

Families gathered around vacuum tube radios to hear news

Atlanta Olympic Broadcasting and the Sydney Olympic Broadcast-

covered up to the minute, including the all-important presidential

ing Organization.

addresses to the nation, and entertainment by such household names as Amos 'n' Andy,Jack Benny and Fred Allen -

the Letter-

man of his day.

Radio-Television Olympica,

The son of journalist and CBS producer Sanford Socolow, who produced "The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite" and later the "Evening News with Dan Rather," and was a producer on

Most radios still have AM dials and it's possible to hear the nostalgic hissing and almost musical signal modulation

that

"60 Minutes," Socolow studies th e why and how behind the evolution of broadcasting and broadcast news in particular.

comes with tuning in stations. However, the original practicality

Radio in America began in earnest around the turn of th e

and necessity of broadcasting using amplitude modulation are

century with the modernization of the telegraph, then the tele-

things of the past.

phon e. Among the first broadcast networks were the WEAF

For Socolow, a leading American radio historian, the loss is

network, owned by AT&T, and the WJZ n etwork, owned by

evolution . The historical

General Electric, Westinghouse and their subsidiary, Radio Corpo-

perspective of radio puts in context today's discussions about

ration of America (RCA). Wh en AT&T sold its inter est in radio

tomorrow's media choices.

and its network to the GE-Westinghouse-RCA group in 1926, a

not just indicative of technological

"Historical patterns indicate our media choices will be limited by the economy, by technology or by regulation, but it will be sold to you -

the consumer -

as less quantity and better quality,"

says Socolow, an associate professor of communication and journalism at the University of Maine, whose research focuses on the development of the nation's radio networks -

new company, the N ational Broadcasting

Company (NBC )

formed, followed by CBS and others. It is at this point in the history of radio where Socolow begins his industry analysis. Socolow looks beneath the surface at how technology, politics,

the competition,

regulation, economics, and social and cultural factors blend ed to

the politics and the profitability from the 1920s through the

influence the current state of broadcasting . His forthcoming book

1940s. Radio's heyday:

on the developm ent of national network radio in the United States

"I think when you look at the intersection of technology,

maps the landscape that allowed an oligopoly to structur e broad -

umain etod ay.umaine.edu

Air Check casting in the United States. His central question concerns why

"The wide-open Internet was great while it lasted, but unfortu-

the United States only produced a few broadcast networks when

nately it's not going to last," he says. "I think there are not enou gh

existing technologies might have allowed for far more.

tollbooths on the Internet to make money. I think we're going to

In one of his many published articles on networks, competition and politics, Socolow chronicles an attempt by a multitude of

start seeing more tollbooths. I can't see the corporations continuing to lose mone y."

developing networks to persuade government regulators at the Federal Radio Commission to adopt a technical

IN THE MEANTIME, television viewer surveys

system that would have facilitated coexistence.

show fewer young people watching the evening

Instead, Socolow says, network behemoths NBC

news today, which partly explains the abun-

and CBS managed to delay and ultimately kill consideration of a synchronous radio system. "In early radi , NB and

BS lo

rnon y,"h

says. "The two companies rationalized the business a nd u ed th e overnment

to h elp th eir

cause." IN HIS RESEARCH,Socolow also has explored advertising's influence over consumers and the radio industry, the profitability of radio, competition and manipulation

of the medium, and

broadcast compani ' willingness to acquiesce to government propaganda in the 1940s. His editorial columns in national newspapers have delved into such topics as the psyche of war

dance of adult-targeted pharmaceutical advertising that bookends and largely supports network

In 1968, people who

evening news. And something else has been happening

loved Walter Cronkite

over time with the evening news, Socolow

and peoplewho hated WalterCronkitestill

observes: Broadcast organizations go to great

watchedWalter Cronkite.Peopletoday won't watch somebody they believeis biased,

length and expense marketing to people they think are their viewers. Decades ago, broadcast news icons su ch as Chet Huntle y, David B1inkley and Walter Cronkite

names. They brought the nation "news from the mountaintop" in an elite, authoritarian and almost mini terial manner , he says.

but they would in 1968."

correspondents, and the policy and economic

"In 1968, people Cronkite

MichaelSocolow

were household

and people

who loved Walter who hated Walter

Cronkite still watched Walter Cronkite. People

implications of net neutrality. He also has exam-

today won 't watch somebod y they believe is

ined how networks and media companies pres-

biased, but they would in 1968," says Socolow,

ent themselves to the public.

who also studies ho w net works and media

Based on history, Socolow predicts some familiar patterns will

companies present themselves to the public.

emerge in the multiplying communications technologies that now

Today, he says, there are dozens of recognizable news person-

encompass the Internet and its proli feration of biogs and social

alities and consumers are more subj ective than ever about the

media.

networks they watch .

"I'd say we're in that period before the transition shakes out, "

With so many emerging ways to receive news and entertain-

he says. "Traditional journalism jobs are going away. Newspapers

ment , Socolow says the trend away from mass broadca sting to

are going out of business. I think the sad thing is the media envi-

personalized , individualized programming by the consum er "will

ronment we're in right now can't sustain itself indefinitely. I see

reformat what we actually consider to be 'radio ' in the futur e.

consolidation. I see regulation following corporate demands ." With the New Yorh Times joinin g hundred s of other online publications

and enterprises

requiring

paid subscriptions ,

People will be listening to somethin g resemblin g radi o, but it won't be 'broadcasting ."' But there will be radio in the future, he says, "so long as Amer-

Socolow says he believes free Internet content will become less

icans are stuck in their cars. Radio is now almost completel y

and less available.

wrapped around driving and commuting to work. "

UMaineToday Winte r 2010

TheCBSnewsroomin 1962 with managingeditorand anchor WalterCronkite,seatedin the center,and other membersof "TheCBSEveningNewswith WalterCronkite" team, including executive producerDonHewitt, left foreground,and producer SanfordSocolow,seatedcenter back. "TheCBSEveningNews with WalterCronkite"wasthe first 30-minutenightlynews program. Photo byCBSPhoto Archive/Getty Images

Living history

By MichaelSocolow IT PAYSTHE RENT.

That's a phrase I well remember from my childhood. Whenever I wanted to change a channel or tum off the television, my father would command me to leave it alone. Why? "Because it pays the rent." I never understood what such boring, dry fare as "Agronsky & Company" and "Face the Nation" had to do with our rent

broadcast journalist for CBS News. He transitioned from being a wire service reporter into television news in the 1950s, when any serious, ambitious journalist wrote for a major newspaper or wire service, or worked in radio. But as television caught on with the American people and network journalism transformed from the stale newsreels of the Camel News Caravan to the professionalism of the "CBS Evening News" - his career took

build one of the most dominant

and

iconic newscasts in American history. Being the son of a veteran journalist has shaped my career in ways both obvious and unexpected. For instance, we always had newspapers around and television news on. I gained an early appreciation for newspapers, and I loved reading everything from the opinion pages and the comics to the box scores and even the

- in fact, I don't think I even knew the meaning of "rent" - but the phrase was a

off. By the lime I was born in the eventful

classified ads. Even today,when I travel to a new town or city, one of the first things I

staple of my childhood. The television was left on because, somehow; the box in the

year of 1968, television journalism was changing the world. And my father had

do is purchase a newspaper and wade through it to get a sense of place. From

living room paid our rent. It paid our rent because my father

been plugging away at it for more than a

my father I also gained an und erstanding of the link between journalism and

worked for almost four decades as a

decade. That year, he was a producer on "The CBS Evening News ," helping to

history. He subscribed

to American

umainetoda y.umaine.edu

ONTHEAIR

â&#x20AC;˘

Heritage for years, and he always loved

meet a Washington Redskin. My father

where he was named bureau chief in the

historical

was a good friend of Walter Cronkite's,

early 1980s. I saw how the changes in

documentaries

(in the early

sailing on Cronkite's

television news in the 1980s affected his

1960s, he had worked on documentary

and I remember

programs for CBS News). Recently, when

yacht and attending his annual Christmas

career , as a more professional version of

cleaning out his apartment, he gave me

party. Amazingly, I remember having a

broadcast journalism gave way to ratings-

the complete set of the BBC's classic World

chat with Walter Cronkite's spry mother

driven glitz and he was pushed aside by

at War series, knowing how much I would

at one of the parties -

treasure them (even if the VHS format

she was in her 90s. My father also is good

younger executives who knew television but lacked the journalistic background of

dates them a bit).

friends with Morley Safer, who lived near

people like my father. I tried my hand at

My father held a variety of high-profile

us in suburban New York when I was a

journalism for a while at CNN, but the

positions, including Washington bureau

small child. Years later, when we were

shallow depth of the stories and the

chief in the early 1970s and executive

invited to a Passover seder at Morley's

inability to delve into complexity and

producer of "CBS Evening News" in the

house, my brother, sister and I had an

nuance sent me back to graduate school

late 1970s. I have distinct memories of his

"only in New York" experience. We trav-

for a Ph.D. in history

involvement in historical events during

eled together to the seder, and I convinced

As a historian,

these years. For instance, I remember

them they were mistaken

waiting to ascend the Washington Monu-

address. We got off the bus, walked down

worked

ment one hot early fall morning. Just as

the block and knocked on the door of a

Museum of Television & Radio in New

my brother, sister, father and I were to

house I was certain belonged to the Safers.

York City (now called the Paley Center for

in the 1980s, when

about

the

I chose to examine

early network radio. Right after college, I as a radio

cataloger

at the

start inside, my father's beeper went off

The door opened, and the author Tom

Media). Listening to those old programs

(back in 1974, a beeper was an exotic

Wolfe, dressed impeccably in a white suit,

technology). He had to return to the office,

stood before us. "Uh, is this Morley Safer's

and writl.ng up the summaries captivated

for President Ford had just announced his

house?" I asked. "Same house, four blocks

me . It made me want to find out how this

decision to pardon Richard Nixon. My

down," he explained, smiling.

whole broadcasting

Fred Allen, Jack Benny and the rest -

process

started.

father would be instrumental in produc-

But 1 also got to see the difficult side of

Where did networks come from? Why

ing an instant prime-time special on the

a journalist's life. Journalists can't main-

were there only three when I was growing

pardon that night.

tain regular schedules . Like policemen

up, and only two in the radio age? My

I was tremendously lucky to meet and

and firemen, they are always on call. My

scholarly work has focused on these and

interact with a variety of famous people

father's job kept him away from home for

other questions

via my father's career. I remember meeting

long hours and days at a time. We moved

networks operated, and how they created

Muhammad Ali outside the CBS bureau

often, and my parents divorced when I

the template for the television age.

after he appeared on "Face the Nation,"

was young. Before I finished high school,

You could say I've always wanted to

and I remember a picnic at Eric Sevareid's

my father's job had moved him from New

figure out how that box in our living room

farm in Northern Virginia, where I got to

York City to Washington

paid the rent.

UMaineToday Wmter 2010

to London,

about how the radio

extension connection

Bringing ngingAbout AboutChange Change Extension Homemakers celebrate60 60years years Maine Extension Homemakers celebrate

T USED TO be about preparing a home lor electricity

learning how to

knead bread. These days , it's more often about managing stress or under -

standing finances .

But ic. the Homemakers Council's callBut no no matter matterthe thetop topic, theMaine MaineExtension Extension Homemakers Council’s

ing is is thethe same - ·— sharing information call-ing same sharing informationand andassisting assistingMaine Mainecommunities communities while raisers and whilespearheading spearheading local local,county , county and andstatewide statewide fund fundraisers and charitable charitable projects. The 850-member council, a branch of University of Maine Cooperative Extension, has been at work in the state for 60 years. “Homemakers has changed,” said Moneda “Bunny” Worster, a Madison, Mane resident who served as MEHC president in the late 1990s. “We go back in our history1 and and look look at at brochures brochures of of how how Lo to prepare prepareyour yourhouse housefor for

aler. We Now we're very running water. We certainly certainly have havecome comea along longway. way. Now we’re very 1

issues. computers

programs about being self-suffi

into health issues, computers, programs about being self-suffi-

cient.” Although the group has existed in Maine in some form since

h the group has existed in Maine in some form since

1938, MEHC considers 1950 its first official year. That’s when

EHCconsiders 1950 its first official year. That's when

the MaineeFarm division FarmBureau Bureau voted voted to tosponsor sponsor aa women;s women 's division totodevelop extend demonstration developleadership, leadership.and andto to extendhome home demonstrationwork

work women among and women and you th in Maine . In 1994 among youth in Maine.

after

several name chang es, along with admission to and then withdrawal from a nation al affiliate, MEHC signed a memoran clum of understanding with UMaine Cooperative Extension. Homemakers are trained in a variety of research-based subjects such as nu trition . financial literacy and e stateplanning that they share in their communities. Last year, MEHC groups presented 233 educational programs devoting more than 46,000 hours to community 1 service Those volunteer hou1. also included statewidefundraising suc h

Coins for Carin g, that benefits organizations such as 4-H and the

Sen r Companion Program Last year Homemakers raised $68 ,770. including i $15,000to purchase an EyeMaxSystem which allows people.with condi tions such as ALS or brain injury 10 communicate In recent years the homemakers have focused on projects such as the creation

a rose garden

the Blaine House in Augusta , Maine. and main te-

nance of a historic balloon-launch site in Aroostook Count y

umainetoday.umaine.edu

11.

alumnifocus

tech

London-based fashioncompany pioneerswearabletechnology By Kristen Andresen

styles

HEN STARSwant to make a splash on

design, and faculty included professors from Stanford, MIT and

the red carpet, they usually call in the

the Royal College of Art, as well as representatives from industrial

heavy hitters:

design powerhouses such as Microsoft and Whirlpool.

Oscar de la Renta ,

The research-int ensive course called on students to qui ckly

Chanel, Versace.

But for the 2010 Met Costume Institute Gala, pop star Katy

and the sky

was the limit.

Perry wanted to light up the night . Literally. So her stylist called in Ryan Genz and Francesca Rosella of CuteCircuit, a London-based company that designs high-fashion wearable technology The .result

develop and prototype new products for clients -

a floor length confection of

"We were working with types of technology that weren't in existence yet," Genz says. "These were 'Wizard of Oz' scenarios." At the time, one of those scenarios involved computer proces-

of LED lights

sors that were small enough to wear, but the only people who

For Genz, a Caribou, Maine, native who graduated from the

purposes , such as using sensors to protect firefighters or others

pink and white silk , striped with thousands - made international headlines.

University of Maine in 1998 with a double major in studio art and cultural anthropology, it was a watershed moment.

were working with this technology were using it for pract ical working in hazardous environments. But Genz and Rosella had other ideas . They imm edia tely

"We didn't really know what the reaction would be," Genz

connected because of their mutual interest in the intersection of

says from his London studio. "In a way, it validated our feelings

technology and fashion. The couple saw the potential for real

about merging new technologies and fashion. We do think it's

innovation in a field that hadn 't changed much since the introduc-

exciting and fun."

tion of synthetic fabrics.

As a result of all the publicity, Genz and Rosella have received

"Film, technology, medicine, all of these have been revolution-

several high-profile commissions, including one from the London-

ized over the last 100 years, but fashion has not , so it's time," says

based department store Selfridges. The retailer asked CuteCircuit

Genz .

to design a scaled-down version of Perry's frock for its 2010 holiday offerings. It retails for about $2,000 U.S. Genz and Rosella met in 2001 while studying at Interaction

YES, HEMLINES rise and fall with the seasons, but pants are still just pants. Skirts are still just skirts. And shirts are still just shirts.

Design Institute Ivrea, on the edge of the Italian Alps. The insti-

But what if a shirt could be more than a shirt?

tute offered the world 's first master 's program in interaction

That's exactly the question Genz and Rosella set out to answer

UMaineToday Wmter 2010

This past May, singer Katy Perry wore a Cute(ircuit creat ion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York City. The dress made international headlines . Photo by CHANCEYEHi PatrickMcMullan.com

umainetoday.umaine.edu

TechStyles

"Film,technology, medicine,all of these have been revolutionized over the last 100 years, but fashionhasnot, so it's time." RyanGenz

when they designed the Hug Shirt, which

edge technology, Cute.Circuit has rede -

Time magazine named one of the top inventions of 2006 . Using sensors, Blue-

fined what a garment can be. It started with the Kinetic Dress, which Genz and

tooth technology and mobile phones, the

Rosella created for the "How Smart Are

shirt can replicate the feeling of a hug

You Dressed Tomorrow?" event at the

from afar.

NEMO science museum in Amsterdam in

The sensors track the strength of the wearer's

touch, heart rate and body

which was connected

mobile phone to the recipient (who also

sensors. When the wearer moved, the wire

it takes two to

to fiv e motion

glowed.

tango), and he or she is, in essence, able

From there, they created the Galaxy

to download a long-distance hug. "It may be silly," Genz says. "Why do

Dress, commissioned in 2008 by the Museum of Science and Industry in

you need a hug? But there's that unful-

Chicago for its "Fast Forward: Inventing

filled desire when you're away from home .

the Future " exhibit (it is on view along-

It's not necessary. No technology is neces-

side the Hug Shirt). The floor-length silk

sary. We can still plow fields with horses

gown is embro idered with 24,000 full-

and avoid zippers and only use buttons,

color LED lights, which run off iPod

but the role of the designer, the role of the

batteri es, and 4,000 Swarovski crystals so

artist is to show what is possible."

the dress looks good even when the lights

By combining the fundamentals

UMaineToday Winter 2010

lace dress with electroluminescent wire,

temperature. The data are transmitted via needs a Hug Shirt -

2004. They embroidered a black Victorian

are off. The LEDs are flat and small, and

traditional fashion design with cutting-

the wires and circuits used are incredibly

fine so as not to weigh down the fabric. Katy Perry had seen photographs of

this feeling of intense inspiration and possibility, like we could do

the Galaxy Dress online, and her stylist,

absolutely stunning

Johnny Wujek, wrote to CuteCircuit

there were enough time and materials,"

asking

wear it. Genz

Genz says. "And in the end, that got

explained that the dress is in a museum, but told Wujek to keep CuteCircuit in

channeled into various successes and failures."

if she could

mind if Perry ever needed a custom light-

things if only

Genz also worked at ASAP Media

up dress of her own. Last April, Wujek let

Services, a new media laboratory

Genz and Rosella know that Perry did. In

campus. At ASAP,students work in teams

two weeks.

to create websites and other products for

At the same time, they were commis-

paying clients. When Genz arrived on

sioned to design a dress for Safura, a

campus in the early 1990s, technol-

contestant

ogy was evolving so rapidly that

in the Eurovision

Song

Contest. Her dres s not only lit up , it

everything

displayed streaming video. "We had to work on both of these

students. The Internet was in its

was

new

to the

infan cy, people still mad e phone

dresses at the same time," Genz says. "I've

calls on landlines and few people used

never not slept so much in my life. Sometimes, we do stuff just for the adrenaline."

e-mail. "I had the opportunity to experiment and fail and to not do things the 'right'

THOUGH THE technological foundation

way, but maybe do things a better way," he

for CuteCircuit was laid at Ivrea, that up -

says. "It was a new approach to learning

all-night work ethic and tenacity has its roots at UMaine, Genz says.

to me and it worked. And today, I encourage people to do that in my studio."

He recalls a class when Michael Lewis,

The spirit of pushing technology, of

a painter and art professor, gave students a

taking risks and of challenging the status

tour of his studio. Lewis told them that

quo still informs everything Genz does. It

even when he doesn 't feel like painting , even if he's feeling uninspired, he finds it

has led to hoodies that hug and gowns

important to come to the studio daily.

kle and dresses that double as mobile

That message reson ated with Genz, who

phones. It has allowed Genz to innovate.

adopted that philosophy at CuteCircuit. Some of the first "wearable art" pieces

that glow. It has led to T-shirts that twin-

To redefine. To shine -

whether in the

studio, in a gallery or on the red carpet.

Genz made were done at UMaine. He

"Mentally, I still go back to that state,

drew a series of images on T-shirts for a

of being in Maine, or UMaine, and it is

performance piece in Lewis' sequential

still inspiring," Genz says. "I can't even

drawing class. For another

Forthe holidays,the Londondepartment storeSelfridgescommissioned CuteCircuitto createthe K Dress,inspiredby KatyPerry's gown.The silkchiffonfrock is decoratedwith a bandof LEDlights.

Photos facing page: RyanGenzwears a TwirkleShirt, featuring LEDtechnology that makes the design - a stylized eye - glow and twinkle when he moves.

class, he

put my finger on what it is or where it

created a cocoon that could envelop the

came from, but it has never failed to make

Thoughit lookslike a regularhoodie,the HugShirt usessensorsto replicatethe sensationof touch,warmth and emotionsent via Bluetoothtechnologyfrom a distant lovedone.Theshirtwas namedone of Time magazine's2006 BestInventions.

wearer.

me think in new ways and produce more

Photoscourtesy of Ryan Genz

"When I was at UMaine, 1 remember

focused or startling ideas."

umainetod ay.umain e.edu

By Jessica Bloch

Heat of batt A military historian;s research sheds light on the timeless dilemma posed by war crimes

16 UMaineToday Winter 2010

In hisresearch,historianStephenMiller investigates the role of the militaryin the pursuit.sustenance and developmentof the BritishEmpirefrom 1850to 1902. That includesthe manipulationof the Britishmediaby the militaryto shape in attitudesaboutrace,classand empire.Thisimageof Britishprisonersof warin SouthAfrica,publishedin Collier'smagazine,wouldhavestirredpatriotic sentimentson the homefront. Prisonersof War-Arrival in Pretoriaof the RoyalIrishFusiliers CapturedNearLadysmith,c. 1900,byThure Thulstrup Washdrawingcourtesyof theAnneSK.BrownMilitaryCollection, BrownUniversityLibrary

le umainetoday.umaine.edu

Heatof Battle HE TROOP BATTALION

British soldiers regularly violated the rules

individual to the state was in great flux.

that went into battle this

of warfare and committed a number of

morning has been ravaged

atrocities, Miller says. Among them were murder, rape, forceful removal of civilians

"Traditionally it was argued that soldiers are different, and the reason why

by losses. The surviving soldiers are hungry and

to concentration

camps and unlawful

destruction of property.

tired. War weary. And there are no reinforcements in sight. After walking miles, the battalion comes upon a farmhouse

Many transgressions were not hidden. Stories circulated throughout South Africa

recently vacated by enemy sympathizers . Here for the first time in days is the prom-

and some made their way home to Great Britain. But few soldiers were prosecuted

ise of fresh water and food. A search of the house also turns up a cache of jewelry, to which the soldiers help themselves. In the heat of battle, the black-and-

and, for the most part, the British public overlooked whatever crimes were committed in pursuit of empire.

and perception

and separate laws: such as those which regulate military courts, is because soldiers have to act differently in battlefield situations, and they're asked to do things that civilians would never have to do," says Miller, whose newest book, Volunteers on the Veld: Britain's CitizenSoldiers

and the South African

War;

1899-1902, focuses on British citizen-

soldiers and the depictions of the military

white rules of engagement can blur. And the interpretation

you need strict discipline in the service

"How muchhaschangedin 100 years?I think there is a largesegmentof societynow,

proper military conduct can vary greatly, depending on whether you're on the front lines or on the home&ont. The dilemmas are timeless, whether

just as there was then, that

talking about the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, or a turn-of-the-century

doesnot want to hear the details. StephenMiller II

in the South African War. "Theorists argued that a soldier must be trained to act without question when given an order by a commanding officer," Miller says. "But this unquestioning belief in blind obedience was challenged by those who argued that soldiers needed education, not just training. They needed to take responsibility for their actions on

war in South Africa, according to British military historian Stephen Miller. And the

the battlefield

and not just follow

MILLER IS INTERESTED in the nature

commands. And as the battlefield grew

"How much has changed in 100

and practice of discipline and punishment

larger, the individual soldier gained more

years?" asks Miller, a University of Maine

in the late-Victorian army. That includes exploration of what the British military

independence

answers are no clearer.

professor of history. "Do we want to hear about atrocities in Iraq? Do we want to see images of dead Iraqis or dead American soldiers? l think there is a large segment of society now, just as there was then, that does not want to hear the details." In his research, Miller focuses on the British army and the South African War

-and decision

making

defined as a criminal act, and how charges were investigated and punishment meted

devolved down the chain of command." Rank-and-file professional soldiers were supplemented by civilian-soldiers -

out. Using court martial records, personal letters, diaries and memoirs, he is looking

volunteers, yeomanry and militia - on the battlefield and as an occupation force,

at how British soldiers in South Africa

Miller adds. These soldiers did not see themselves as members of an elite military

viewed their actions and those of their comrades. How society defines crime on and off

cast, but just regular men from London or Liverpool or Edinburgh.

known as the Boer War of 1899 to 1902. lt was a conflict in which the British were

the battlefield was an important question

ultimately successful, but the cost was

in the late 19th century as more and more

high. The British lost many men in battle

countries developed professional armies that were often supplemented by civilians

soldiers, but they were in some ways cultural ambassadors," Miller says. "Their actions were a reflection of their culture's

in times of war. The relationship of the

morals and values."

and to disease, and morally it weighed heavily on both combatants and civilians.

UMaineToday Winter 2010

"As such, these men were not just

â&#x20AC;˘

-. :

I And it's important to remember, Miller

says, that the British soldiers fighting in the South African War came from a range of societal classes - workers, members of the middle class, elites. British society was deeply connected to its military in that sense -

in a way we don't see in contem-

porary society. Th e combination of disdain for the "oth er," the import ance of th e British reputation, and a strong, often personal investment in military success may have set the stage for public sympathy for the An 1899photograph of graffitiscratched on the wall of a Boerhomein SouthAfricareads, "Don'tForgetMajubaBoys,"recallinga famousBoervictoryoverthe British,followedby an apparentreply,"No Fear,Booers,No Fear.""RememberMajuba"wasa rallyingcryfor the Images Britisharmyduringthe war. Photoby ReinholdThiele/Getty

military and a willingness to overlook the atrocities it committed. Th ere was a kernel of opposition in the form of small but very vocal groups that traveled to South Africa to document the situ ation . Miller says one of the most well -kn ow n m embers was a woman

DURING THE SOUTH African War, Miller

it," Miller says_ "According to the rules of

named Emi ly Hobhou se, wh o docu-

says , th e governme nt s of the Boer

law and conduct codes developed at the

republics continu ously complained about

Hague Convention, which concluded only

mented appalling conditions in concen tration camps filled with Boer wom en and

the treatment of their civilians and prison-

a few months before hostilities erupted,

children.

ers of war. Many captured Boers eventu -

the execution of prisoners was clearly

"Sh e made a big differen ce, because

ally disappeared or were found dead, yet

murd er. There's no other way around it.

the government responded to public pres-

during the war only four British soldiers

So th en why were there so few British

sure generated around this issue," he says.

were found guilty of murder . In add ition , the numb er of reported

soldiers found guilty of murd er? Britain

"But sh e was ju st one person from one

was trying to preserve an image of itself."

small group, and there were many people

rapes was too low to b e accurate, says

On the homefront, some scope of the

in the public who called h er a pro -Boer

Miller. In nearly thr ee years of conflict,

atroc ities was known , but th e spin was

ju s t for exploring the truth. Th at truth

with a force of around half a million men

clearly pro-British. The media of the day

reflected poor ly on the flag, so she was

who routinely came into contact with the

perp etrated that in a numb er of ways.

somehow anti-patriotic ."

enemy; only 14 soldiers were charged with

"Race is a term that was very fluid at

rape, attempt ed rape Âˇor aidin g and abet-

th e end of th e 19th century and often

Not much h as changed

s in ce th e

South African War, Miller says. Today,

refers to nationality;" he says. "But certain

n ews programs still catch heat for remind -

"In my research, I show that soldiers

n ewspapers projected the Boers as sort of

ing people of the war dead. Many atroci-

often shared their experiences with family

these backward farmers, hillbillies, hicks.

ties still go un punis hed.

and friends, and discuss ed their willing-

And so rac ially they're seen as different

In times of war, the public "wants the

n ess to execut e a prisoner if necessa ry,

and not like 'us,' so who are you going to

job don e," but doesn't always want to hear

though non e persona lly admitted to doing

believe in that situation?"

how it would be clone, Miller says.

ting rape . Of these, nin e were acquitted_

um ainetoday. umain e.edu

UMaineToday

Winter 201.0

de in China 1na â&#x20AC;˘

UMaineart professorworksto makethe country's culturallife accessibleto a Westernaudience By Kristen Andresen Photos by Laurie E. Hicks ON THE PAGESof art history textbooks, traditional and contemporary Chinese work can seem worlds apart from the American experience. Sometimes, the culture's essence and vitality get lost in translation. But Laurie Hicks, a professor of art at the University of Maine, is part of a team of researchers working to make these art forms

more accessible to an English-speaking audience. This past summer, Hicks worked as a documentary photographer

for

China Vine.org, a collective that aims to bring Chinese culture to life through narrative, video and photography. During her travels to Beijing and Shanghai, Hicks documented a range of art forms -

from traditional gourd engraving and puppet the ater to

contemporary sound art and zines. Beijinggourdcarver WangXiaoqiand her niece

Following in her father'sfootsteps, WangXiaoqiworksin a small bedroom/studioin the apartment she shareswithher parents,cutting shallowlines ontothe surfacesof gourdsto createdelicateimagesof traditionalChinesestories.

"We're trying to present this from the perspective of the artists, using their narratives as the basis for understanding their work, " says Hicks, who became involved with the project as a result of previous collaborations with principal investigators Kristin Congdon of the University of Central Florida and Doug Blandy of the University of Oregon. "We want this to represent as closely as possible the experience of the artists and the people who engage with these art forms." On these pages, Hicks presents a selection of her photographs from Beijing and Shanghai.

umainetoday.umaine .edu

Madein China

UMaine Today Winter 2010

Detail-oriented WHILELAURIE HICKS visitedChina,she wasn't just documentingartistsat work shewas an artist at work. Hicks'own photographyand researchcenterson memoryandthe tourist experience . For instance,a recentprojectincludes2,500 picturesof touriststaking pictures. "I 'm reallyinterestedin the relationship betweenimageryand memory,â&#x20AC;˘Hicks says."What is it that we rememberand how do we rememberit? Ourmemoriesof placesare often constructedby the stories we tell and the pictureswe bring home ratherthan by the actualexperiences we had in the placeitself." ForHicks,the storyis in the details. She'slessinterestedin the grand panoramicview than in the smalldetails: a window latch,a pieceof graffiti or an unusualbuildingfacade. "Thesetypesof thingsare,to me,what makea placea place," Hickssays.

Clockwisefrom upperleft: Ou Ning,Beijingzinesartist and directorof the ShaoFoundation In a conference roomlocatedin the officesof the ShaoFoundation, OuNingspeaksaboutthe sociallyfocusedzines he hascreated.As his copieswereconfiscated by the police, OuNing borrowedmanyof the zineshe showedusfrom friends. XiuwenCao,JinshanFarmersPainting Inheritor,Zhonghong Village Livingin the ZhonghongVillagewith otherswho work in the sametradition, XiuwenCaopaints imagesthat speakof the experiences and traditionsof rural life.

Graffiti near island6Arts Center,Shanghai Artistsmarkwalls nearthe island6Arts Center with imagesof popular Chinese andWestern icons.Thecenteris a collectionof artists' studios, galleriesandperformance spacesin Shanghai.

A Gift lo the ChinesePeople- - TheFacadeofof the British Pavilion at Expo2010 O- Shanghai Photoby LaurieE. Hicks

Embroideredshoeinserts,Beijing Womenembroidershoeinsertsusinggeometric designs,flowermotifsandtraditionalimagery. Accordingto oneartist,the insertsensurethat youwill "alwayswalk on beauty." Puppetmaster,Qibaoshadowplay in the QibaoWaterVillage Wewatchbackstageasoneof Qibao's puppet mastersdemonstrates the traditionaltechniques of shadowplay.

umainetoday.umaine. edu

Why totoknow hyisisit1timportant important know about aboutsea seasurface surface salinity?? How affect o do dothe theoceans oceans affectthe the water cycle?? How of the How much much·of the ocean’s has been beentested? tested? ocean'ssurface has •

Fathomingoceanscience UMaine marine educator bringsdata and conceptsto life URRENTLY, HUNDREDS of satellites orbit the

Semes ter by the Sea class and directs one of the national Centers

Earth , many with instruments th at improve our

for Ocean Sciences Education Exc ellence (COSEE). "In all of

lives and define our lifesty les. Satellite-bas ed

our education and outreach programs, we really try to empha-

technology makes it possibl e to watch our fa-

size that point. One approach is throu gh visualization of ocean

vorite television shows, navigat e unfamiliar

data and concepts. This is important bec aus e th e ocean is so re-

roads and plan weather-dependent

activities a week ahead.

Satellites also collect data that aren't as easy to explain, such as the NASA instrument to be launch ed this spring to measure sea surface salinity over the globe. Annette deCharon 's job is to explain exactly what that instrument, dubb ed Aquarius, will do once it's launch ed in 2011 and why its mission -

to collect data on salt concentrations at the

ocean surface - is critical for NASA and for society as a whole.

mote that people can't readil y identify with it. But if you give them visuals that help them see the big picture and how things interact , they are more likely to believe its relevance ." The educational materials deCharon and her team produc e help demonstrate why monitoring sea surface salinity is ke y to understanding what's happening in th e oceans. "Most people know the oceans are salty, but they d on't know that pattern s of salinity change geographicall y and over time ,"

From her mission control-style desk in an office at the Uni-

she says. "If there's a lot of rain or if ice melts in a region, the

versity of Maine Darling Marin e Center in Walpole, Maine,

sea surface will be less salty. If you get higher evapora tion , sea-

deCharon's job as senior marine education scientist is to mak e

water will be saltier . Sea surface salinit y changes can tell us how

ocean sciences more access ible for various audiences. Her work

the water cycle is changing over the ocean. That's important be-

with NASNAquarius Education & Public Outreach targets the

cause 86 p ercent of global evaporation and 74 percen t of globa l

public, students from elementary school to college, and science

pr ecipita tion happens over the oceans. "

communicators from classroom teachers to ocean researchers.

Over its three -yea r mission , Aquarius data will be us ed to

"Many people don't really interact with the ocean at all, so

produce monthly maps of global sea surface salinity. Within a

th ey don't think about how it affects them, bu t it's basically th e

few months , Aquarius will collect as many sea surface salinit y

key driver of climate," says deCharon, who teaches a UMaine

measurements as the entire 125-year hist orical record from sh ips

UMaineToday Winter2010

Wha do dohurricanes rr haveto to do dowith withthe t e What have o the theoceans?How oceans?Ho does saliniyof doessea seasurface surface salinity salinityaffect affectthe theclimate?? What h effect effectdoes does salinity oceansalinity salinityhave haveon ? ocean on El Nino an and La Nina? Howdoes doesmelting sea s a ice ectsalinity How iceaaffect salinitylevels? levels?

By Jessica Bloch

and buoys. The newest findings also will be used in climate pre-

of people, including NASA engineers and scientists," she says .

diction and El Nino forecasts .

"That's something you usually don't get during your scientifi c

To increase

awareness

and understanding

of salinity,

training."

deCharon and her team have developed a website with a wealth of information, including trivia (bet you didn't know, for exam-

public outreach on NASA's TOPEX/Pos eidon mission, the pio-

ple, the word "salary" may derive from the money paid to Roman

neering satellite that measured sea surface height during the

soldiers to buy salt), online data tools and suggested activities for students from elementary (a potato float helps children un-

1997-98 El Nino event. DeCharon assisted in media campaigns, produced outreach materials and created some of NASA's ear ly

derstand the concept of relative density) to high school (an ex-

educational websites .

periment that splits saltwater into its constituent ions). The activities are aligned with National Science Education Standards and Ocean Literacy principles, and are evaluated to ensure their efficacy. As ensconced as deCharon is now in the world of science education , she didn't start out that way.

After several years, deCharon went from mission planning to

It was an exciting experience merging science, technology and education, deCharon says, and a springboard for her role as director of COSEE-Ocean Systems . The UMaine-based COSEE center brings together scientists and educators in peer-to-peer int eractions, both in person and online. Educators contribute their understanding of how people

A University of California - Davis graduate in geology,

learn, thus helping scientists better communicate their research.

deCharon earned a master's degree in oceanography at Oregon

Scientists contribute their cont ent knowl edge and expertise in

State University. She worked at Brown Univer sity as a research

connecting complex ideas.

assistant in the Department of Planetary Geology before being

"By developing web-based tools that support scientist-edu -

hired as a mission planner for the NASAJet Propulsion Labora-

cator collaborations, we are pushing the boundaries of ocean

tory in Pasadena, Calif.

sciences education ," says deCharon, who recentl y received an-

"I discovered that I am pretty good at taking lots of input and

other three years of COSEE funding . "We look forward to mak-

coming up with plans that satisfied the needs of various types

ing significant impacts in Main e, New England and beyond." â&#x20AC;˘

urnainetoday.umaine.edu

studentfocus

ShellHatcheries Undergradpart of innovativelobsterresearch ence would bolster his graduate school

YOU'VE SEEN PLENTY of bumper stick-

hatcheries, sealing them with a biodegrad-

ers urging people to save the whales. But

able polymer and etching them with

applications,

what about the lobsters?

notches to allow the flow of food - algae.

improved his work ethic, as well.

and he found

that it

In the ocean, lobster larvae have a

Though their early trials have had

"I always thought of myself as a hard

survival rate ofless than 0.1 percent in the first three months. It's a wonder any full-

mixed success, the process has been a tremendous learning experience for

worker before coming to college, but the

grown lobsters make it to the trap, let

Dawes. The logistics alone -

perfecting

being employed in a lab were quite a

alone the dinner table. Aquaculturists

the shell notches and transporting shells

shock ," Dawes says. "Because of how busy

have tried to raise crustaceans in captivity,

seeded with living larvae to a field station

I was , and because

but there's a bit of a problem with that: lobsters are cannibalistic. And to keep the

several hours away from campus -

students and Dave (Neivandt) to look up

babies separated is cost-prohibitive. Bob Bayer,director of the Lobster Insti-

have

been an eye-opener.

demands of the actual coursework and

I had graduate

to, I became a much better student."

"I've learned how to plan an experi-

Over the years, Neivandt has become a

ment, how to collaborate with others, and

trusted mentor and friend, and on the

tute at the University of Maine, figured

how to keep an ultimate goal in mind

drive to and from Beals, Dawes was able to

there needed to be a better solution, so in

without

use him and Bayer as a sounding board for

early 2009, he turned to biological engineering professor David Neivandt and

research," Dawes says. Since his high school days in Belgrade,

his career choice. "I want to pursue a Ph.D. and become

undergraduate researcher Ryan Dawes.

Maine, Dawes wanted to participate in

a professor partly because of that conver-

research. He knew that hands-on experi-

sation," Dawes says.

Neivandt -

whose primary research

focuses on the transport proteins

linked

of certain

to cancer and other

diseases across cell membranes -

has a

reputation on campus for working on unusual problems . Dawes, a senior biology major and honors student who has worked in Neivandt's lab since his freshman year, has a reputation on campus as a conscientious, curious researcher. With the help of the Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education, working with Brian Beal in Beals, Maine, and a Maine Technology Institute

seed grant, they're testing a

simple, innovative procedure. They're using discarded clamshells as small-scale

UMaineToday Winter 2010

getting bogged down in the

A Buried Treasure

Centuries-old ship just one of three ever discovered

By Jessica Bloch S FAR AS SHIPWRECKS go, there was nothing fancy about

the vessel

found this summer at the onstruction

site of the

World Trade Center in New York City It wasn't an old military ship with h eavy artillery. It wasn't a great cargo vessel laden with exotic riches from another continent . And it wasn 't a ship that might have been used by pirates. Yet what University of Maine marine archaeologist Warren Riess disco vered several months ago when he examin ed the boat was, in a sense, more remarkable than anyth ing he could have discov ered about a wars hip, ocea n liner or pira te vessel. Riess, a n ational expert in marin e archaeology of the New England and mid-

Marinearchaeologist WarrenRiessat the WorldTradeCentersite in New YorkCity, wherethe remainsof a light coastership from the late 18th or early 19th centuries were unearthedthis pastsummer .

umainetoday.umaine .edu

A Buried Treasure Atlantic regions, believes the remains,

between finding a buried treasure of gold

THE WORLD TRADE Center vessel is

found about 200 yards from where the

and a buried trove of broken pottery.

now also one of three ships of th is vin-

World Trade Center's South Tower stood before the terrorist events of Sept. 11, 2001, is a light coaster from the late 18th

One find tells a fantastic tale. The other simply tells a tale of daily life. "The most interesting thing is we

tage found in Manhattan . Unlike this coaster ship , the other two were transatlantic vessels.

or early 19th centuries that likely carried

don't know much about these ships ,"

The first was disco vered in the early

goods up and down the East Coast to a growing populace of the post-Revolu-

says Riess, a research associate professor in UMaine's School of Marine Sciences

1980s in an area now benea th the South Street Seaport Museum near the East

tionary War era.

whose work in marine archaeo logy in -

River, a location almost directl y across

cludes several shipwrecks and the Penob-

the city from the World Trade Center site.

Analysis of the ship's remain s is ongoing, but Riess thinks it could be just the

scot Expedition of 1779.

The second was found abou t two blocks

third vessel of its kind and age to have

south from the first.

been discovered. The other two were

"The wars hips, th e government ships, there are all kinds of drawings and mod-

found elsewhere on the East Coast.

els of those. But the everyday coasters of

moved from the site in five days so as to

In its time, the ship wouldn't have

this time period , we've only found three

not hold up construction of the complex.

been considered a significant vessel,

of them, and we don't have drawings in

The rema ins were taken to the Maryland

which is the reason why no drawings or

any detail. So to be able to study this is

Archaeological Conservat ion Laborato ry,

models have survived. Today, however,

very important, because it tells us about

whic h serves as a clearinghouse for ar-

that insignificance is exactly why the find

everyday life at that time. It tells us about

chaeological collections recovered from

is so exciting for the nautical archaeolog-

the 99.5 percent of th e people who

land and underwater projects.

ical community.

weren't recorded, and it tells us about the

For an archaeologist, it's the difference

level of technology at the time. "

Althoughthe other two shipsdiscoveredin Manhattan were from the sameera, the WorldTradeCentership standsapart in severalways.It's an excitingfind for marinearchaeologist WarrenRiessand othersin his field, becauseit bringsnew data to their understanding of shipsof this particularera.The

vessel is smaller,lighter and about 50 years younger than the other two. Its builders used wrought iron nails rather than wood to fasten it together. The construction of the other two ships was closer to government vessels. Photosby KathleenRiess

UMaineToday Winter 2010

The World Trade Center ship was re-

The vessel was found about 25 feet below street level in an area that would

have been beachfront to the Hudson River. Based on evidence at the site, Riess

and they just left th e bottom there and

known as shipworms

filled over it. I don't think it was pur-

ship's wood skeleton. Even hundreds of

believes the vessel had been brought in

posely brought in for the fill, but just

years later, identifying what kind of ship-

for repairs or replacement. Whatever the

happened to be th ere."

worm left its shell behind can help determine where the ship might have pick ed

reason, its beaching was intentional.

The researchers found about 32 feet of

present in the

Researchers excavated conifer logs

the vessel from stern to midship, which

found perpendicular to the ship's keel,

Riess estimates is about half of its original

up the mollusks. One of the world's specialists in the

which indicates it had been rolled onto

length. The seaworthy vessel was lightly

identification of shipworms, Kevin Eck-

the shore . Riess also found that an outer

constructed, unlike a government ship

elbarger, director of UMaine's Darling

sheathing

built to exacting specifications, including

Marine Center, exam ined some of the

a carefully crafted finish.

shells in the wood and found evidence

had been scraped

off the

planks of the ship, which could mean it was being readied for repairs.

"With a government ship, they would

that the ship may have traded in the Caribbean at least once.

Riess can only guess what happened

have wasted wood to get it to look right,"

next, but if his estimations are correct,

he says. 'This ship was made in an every-

"Here's this vessel that helped create

the ship played yet another role in the ex-

day shipyard for merchants. lt was care-

that important time period, right after

pansion of a growing New York City. "A shipwright probably took a look at it and said, you know, it's just not worth

fully put together with material that was

America becomes a country," Riess says.

available or at hand, rather than material

"This was the time when George Wash-

sought out as perfect to use."

ington , Thomas Jefferson, John Adams

repairing," he says. "It looked like they

Where those materials came from re-

and Alexander Hamilton were trying to

took off the upper parts of the ship, prob-

mains a mystery, as does the ship's iden-

figure out how to get the economy going.

ably to reuse the wood for buildings,

tity. Clues to the vessel's travels may be

This ship was one of those tools used to

hous es, commercial buildings or barns,

found in the shells of tiny mollusks

build New York and the country." â&#x20AC;˘

umainetoday.umaine.edu

insights Givingvoiceto fishingfamilies A TWO-YEAR socioeconomic studyof DownEastMainefishingfamiliesand communitiesis underway to inform policiesbeingdevelopedby the National OceanicandAtmosphericAdministration in an effort to restoredepletedfish stocks in the Gulf of Maine. Theprojectis led by Universityof MaineSchoolof MarineSciences researcher TeresaJohnsonand includes collaboratorsfrom severalpartnering institutions.Throughsurveys,recorded oral historyinterviews,focusgroupsand an assessment of economicand socioeconomic data,researchers will for the first time definethe needs, requirementsand capacityof eastern Mainefishingcommunitiesto surviveas federalfisheriesmanagersdevelop "catch-share"policies. Theresearchwill influencehow future fishing policiesin NewEnglandcanbe designedto protectfishingcommunities as fisheriesmanagerstry to reversethe 80 percentstockdeclinein the Gulf of Mainein the last 15 years.

Savingscallops ASPARTOFthe SeaScallopResearchSetAsideProgramof the NationalOceanic andAtmosphericAdministration, researchers at the Universityof Maine's DarlingMarineCenterarestudyingthe waysthe mollusksspawnin hopesof helpingrevivethe industryin the state. RickWahle,a UMaineresearch associateprofessor,is leading a team of graduatestudentsworking in the DamariscottaRiverand the laboratoryto better understandand modelthe fertilizationprocessof scallops.Wahle hasdoneextensiveresearchon reproductionin the seaurchin,another broadcastspawnerthat hasbeen severelydepletedin the Gulf of Maine.If scallopsare like seaurchins,fertilization ratesdropdramaticallyover a distanceof a meteror two. If the scallopfertilization processcan be better understood , the findingscan be extendedto other species,suchas oysters,musselsand clams.

It is criticalto assessthe degreeto whichsmall-scale, fishery-dependent communitiescan participate successfully in a catch-share program,and what conditionsand resourcesare neededto facilitate the success."TeresaJohnson

30 UMaineToday Winter 2010

Glacialnitrogen MELTING GLACIERS in theAmericanWestare releasing chemicals thatcauseecosystem changes in alpinelakes,includinglargequantitiesof nitrogenthatreducebiodiversity , according to an international research team ledby University of Mainepaleoecologist Jasmine Saras. Thestudy,fundedbya $509,000 grant fromthe NationalScience Foundation, determinedthat glaciers in alpinewatersheds are thelargestgeomorphic andbiogeographic influences of nitrateconcentrations in highelevation lakeecosystems . Nitrogenisa keylimitingnutrientin alpine lakesthat candramatically affectecosystem productivity andspecies diversity. Theresearchers fromUMaine , Miami University, theU.S . Geological Survey , Universityof Nebraska - Lincoln andtheUniversity of 26 highof Albertastudiedtheecosystems elevation lakesin thenorthernandcentral U.S.RockyMountains, whereatmospher ic nitrogendeposition is lowandwherealpine glaciers havereceded substantially in the20th century. Thoselakesfed bymeltingglaciers and snowhadupto 100timeshighernitrate concentrations andloweralgalbiomass than thosefedsolelybysnowpack. Inthoselakes affectedbyglacialmelt,sediment diatoms werelessdiverse thanat anyothertimein thepastcentury.

Migrationmonitoring

Flu-fightingneedles COULDMAINEforestshelp address shortagesof flu-fightingdrugs? Universityof Maineresearchers have found that the needlesof severalconifers, includingMaine'sstatetree- the white pine- havethe ability to storethe startermoleculefor the drugTamiflu. All plantsandbacteriaproduce shikimicacid,which is a keycompoundin the synthesisof drugssuchasTamiflu. However,the researchers, led by UMaine Ph.D.candidateNilmini Gedivinneand chemistryprofessorsRaymondFortand BarbaraCole,discoveredseveralspecies of Mainetreesstoreshikimicacidin higherconcentrations - and for longer periodsof time. Thescientists'next challengeis refiningthe extractiontechniqueto

3%0

of the dry weight of someconifer _needlesis madeup of shikimicacid, whichis easily extractedthrough a processsimilar to brewinga cup of tea, but on a largerscale.

Partneringto power the physicalsciences ALMOST 50 Mainemiddleandhighschools will havea chanceto redesign theirphysical science curriculawith the helpa $12.3 milliongrantfromthe NationalScience Foundationto the University of Maine'sMaine Centerfor Research in STEMEducation . Thegrantwill be usedto formthe Maine Physical Sciences Partnership, creating12 jobsandgeneratingcurriculathat will be usedin 12highschoolsand36 middle schools. It alsowill fundprofessional developmentprograms for schoolteachers and UMainefacultyandstudents, aswellasthe purchase of supplies for localschools . Thecurriculawill betailoredfor students in grades6-9,whicharecrucialyears.The courseof studywouldbeorganized sothat studentswho reachninthgradehavea commonbackground. "A lot of studentsclosethe dooron scienceandmathin grades6-9," saysSusan McKay,directorof the MaineCenterfor Research in STEMEducation anda professor of physicswho isoverseeing the newpartnership . "I thinkwe canreallysetup studentsfor success if we cantakesomeof the research abouthowto sequence ideas andimplementa curriculum usingthat research, sothe seventh-grade teacher knowswhatthe studentshavedonein sixth grade."

A NEWNORTHEAST RegionalMigration MonitoringNetworkwill take a groundbreaking,comprehensive approachto studyingthe majormigrationroutefor manyspeciesof birdsheadingsouthfor the winter and north for the summer alongGulf of Maineislandsandcoast. Researchers participatingin the networkincludeUniversityof Maine biologistRebeccaHolbertonand other UMainescientistswho havespentthe last two yearstrying to determinewhereand when migratingspeciesfly overthe gulf. Alsotaking part are biologistsfrom the U.S.FishandWildlife Service,Maine CoastalIslandsNationalWildlife Refuge, the NationalParkServiceandAcadia University. "Therehasneverbeensucha combinationof techniquesandtechnology appliedto bird migrationin this region before,andwe are beginningto make someexcitingdiscoveries,"says Holberton. Lastfall, a bandingprogramled by UMainedoctoralstudentAdrienne Leppold,alongwith USFWS andthe NationalAudubonSociety,revealedthat as manyas a half-million or more songbirdsfly over Maine'sislandand coastalareasin the midcoastregionalone. Leppold'sspringmigrationstudiesat MetinicIslandthis yearshowedthat migratingsongbirdsalsousethesesame areasas they returnnorth.

Juvenileredeyedvireo Photo

. oriBerry

umainetoday .umaine .edu

insights

Tuftsbound ANIMALANDveterinarysciencesmajor WarrenVarneyofTurner, Maine; biochemistrymajorBradieManionof Old Town,Maine;and biologicalengineering major DanielGergesof Yarmouth,Maine, are the latestUniversityof Maine studentsto receiveearlyacceptanceto TuftsUniversitySchoolof Medicine throughthe MaineTrackEarlyAssurance program.Bornof a partnershipbetween Tuftsand MaineMedicalCenter,the programreservesa limited numberof seatsper yearfor sophomoresfrom Universityof MaineSysteminstitutions, and Bowdoin,Batesand Colbycolleges. Lastyear,the first for EarlyAssurance, two UMainestudentswere acceptedJonathanPelletierandAaronPerreault.

Aaron Putnamcollectsmoraine samplesin New Zealand. Photo by alumnaAliceDoughty , now a Ph.D. student at the Universityof Victoria, New Zealand

Antarctica's ice age influence IMPROVED METHODS for dating moundsof dirt and rocks left behindby glaciersconfirm that New Zealandglaciersrespondedto climaticeventsin Antarctica,ratherthan eventsthat originatedat the Arctic,accordingto an internationalteam of researchers led by University of Mainescientists AaronPutnamand GeorgeDenton. Thefindingsby the 10-member research team,published in the journalNature Geosc ience, resolvea long-standingdebate aboutthe end of the last iceage in New Zealand. The research was led by Putnam,a Chapman,Maine, nativewho is a Ph.D.studentin UMaine's Climate Change Institute. "Applyinga precise and accurate dating method to glacierlandformshasconfirmedthat the effectsof AntarcticCold Reversalextendedto New Zealand,"said Putnamin a pressreleaseissued by the Instituteof Geologicaland NuclearSciencesbasedin New Zealand."It bringsus closerto understand ing the intricaciesof the global climatesystem." Scientists havedebatedwhetherconditions at the Antarcticor Arctic had moreimportant influenceworldwide. Studiesof coresamples from Arctic and Antarctic ice sheetshaverevealed warmingin the north matchedcooling in the south, and vice versa,at the endof the last ice age. Theresearchers found that the SouthernAlps glacier movementsmatchedAntarctic temperature patterns,an indicationthat Antarcticaand New Zealandbeganwarmingup 13,000 years ago at the sametime Europesankbackinto a 1,300-year-long ice age - the YoungerDryas.

Expanding Maine's Reading Recovery THEREADING RECOVERY initiativeat the Universityof Maineis part of a nationalnetworkof 16 collegesand universitiesreceiving$45.6million to help improveliteracyskillsfor an estimated500,000first-graders strugglingwith readingand writing. UMaine'sCollegeof Educationand HumanDevelopmentis receiving$2.9 million in federal fundsto substantially expandits statewideReading Recoveryinitiative, a scientificallybasedshort-termearly literacyintervention modelthat alreadyhas helpedthousandsof Mainefirst-graders improve literacy skills. Thefive-yeargrantwill enablethe ReadingRecoverytraining networkto add 50 trained ReadingRecoveryteacherseachyear.Thatwill increasetheir ranks exponentiallyto morethan 250throughoutthe state by the endof the five-year period, accordingto Mary Rosser , UMaine's coordinatorof literacyprofessional developmentprogramsand directorfor ReadingRecovery . Expandingthe training program"will makea hugedifferencefor education communities in Maine," saysRosser , the grant's principalinvestigatorand an internationallyrecognizedresearche r in early literacyeducation.

32 UMaineToday Winter 2010

Losingthe ocean'strees UMaine's

ADVANCE

A FIVE-YEAR, $3.3 million NationalScienceFoundationADVANCE grant will fund a new Universityof Maine initiativeto improveinstitutionalconditionsdisproportionately affectingfemalefacultyin the sciences, technology,engineering, mathematicsandthe social-behavioral sciences. Thegrantwill establishthe RisingTideCenter,whichwill supportthe initiative at UMaineandin the Universityof MaineSystem.Thegoal of the centeris to increasethe numberof femalefacultymembersin the STEMdisciplines(science, technology,engineeringand mathematics)and social-behavioral sciencesby defining the practicesthat attract and supportthe retentionof femalefaculty,facilitatepromotionthroughthe academicranksandto administrativepositions,and provideprofessionalsatisfaction. UMainehasa combined114femalefacultymembersteachingin STEMandsocial-behavioral fields, comparedwith 284 malefaculty membersin thoseareas.UMaineis belowthe nationalaveragein a numberof STEMand social-behavioral fields. "FromEdithPatchto DorisTwitchellAllento the womenwho help leadour facultytoday,UMainehasa proudhistoryuponwhich we can build to becomea modelinstitutionfor supportingfemalefacultymembers acrossthe university,"saysSusanHunter,UMaine'sseniorvice presidentfor academic affairsand provost.She alsois a biologyprofessorwho will serveas principalinvestigatoron the project. "This initiativewill promote opportunity,enhancediversityand providemoreof the role modelswho will help show our femalestudents the pathwaysto successin STEMandsocial-behavioralsciencefields." Fourother facultymembersco-authoredthe ADVANCE grant: Amy Fried,associateprofessorof political science;SusanGardner,associateprofessorof highereducation;KarenHorton,associateprofessorof mechanicalengineeringtechnology;andJodyJellison,professorof molecularplant pathologyand directorof the Schoolof Biologyand Ecology. Thegoal of NSF'sADVANCE programis to encouragethe representationand advancement of womenin academicscienceand engineeringcareers,therebycontributingto the developmentof a more diverseand sustainableU.S.scienceand engineeringworkforce.

1865

THE

UNIVERSITY

MAINE A Memberof the University of Maine System

Director of University Relations

J oe Carr Managing Editor

Margaret Nagle Designers

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Michael Mardosa ÂŠ 20 10 by the Un ivers ity of Main e System

UMaine Today is produced four times a year by the Depart ment of University Relations , University of Maine , 576 1 Howar d A. Keyo Publi c Affairs Building, Orono, Main e 04469-5761, 207 -58 1-3745 . In comp lying with th e lett er and spir it of app licable laws and in pursuing its own goals of diversity, the University of Maine System shall not discriminate on the grounds of race, colo r, religion, sex , sexual orientation, including transg en der status and gend er expression, national orig in , citize nship sta tus, age, disabilit y or veteran status in employment, education and all other areas of the University System . Th e un iversity provides reasonable accom modations to qualified individua ls wi th disabilities up on requ est. Quest ions and complaints abo ut discriminatio n in any area of the universit y should be dir ecte d to: Equa l Opportunity Director , 5754 North Stevens, Room 101, Orono, Maine 04469-5754 ; 207581-1226 or 207-581 -94 84 (TTY). Printing and distribut ion of UMaine Today are underwri tten by the Office of th e Vice Presiden t for Univers ity Developmen t and Alumni Relations, and the Un ivers ity of Maine Founda tion.

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DECADES OFWHALINGand fishingfor the largestspecieshavealteredthe ability of oceansto storeand sequestercarbon, accordingto a team of marine researchers from the Universityof Maine,the Univers ity of BritishColumbia andthe Gulf of MaineResearch Institute(GMRI). An individualwhale containsa huge amountof carbon,an amountonly exceededby the largesttrees,saysAndrew Pershing,a researchscientistwith a joint appointmentat UMaineand GMRIwho ledthe team.A centuryof whaling equatesto burningmorethan 70 million acresof temperateforestor 28,000SUVs drivingfor 100years,he says. "We tend to think of carbonstoragein peat bogs,treesandgrasslands, not in animals," Pershingsays."By removing whales,sharksand largefish,we've reducedthe amountof carbonstoredin thesepopulations." Largermarinevertebratespeciesand the largestindividualsin the species

should bea topconservation priority, according to theresearchers; whose findings ontheimpact ofwhaling onthe ocean carbon cycle werepublished bythe international Public Library ofScience of (PLoS).

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Planting Seeds

Two Alumni Place Orono, Maine 04469-5792 207-581-5100 or 800-982-8503

CULTIVATINGAND MAINTAININGa garden can be rewarding and satisfying. But it all starts with the first step planting the seeds. No one understands that concept better than University of Maine alumnus Dr. George Holmes. In addition to being a well-respected veterinarian in Northport, Maine, he is an avid horticulturalist who was mentored in his avocation by UMaine alumnus and educator Roger Luce. In recognition of Luce's contribu tions to horticulture and to Maine people, Holmes and severa l friends endowed the RogerF.LuceScholarship Fundin the Universityof Maine Foundation for students majoring in landscape horti culture. Like the assistance Luce gave Holm es in creating his gardens, this endowed scholarship not only helps students year to year, but continues to grow. Equated with excellence and longterm strength, endowments are essential if th e Uni versit y of Main e is to remain a leader in teaching, research and service in Maine. Please consider crea tin g an endowm ent thr ough th e University of Main e Found ation and help plant the seeds for excellence.

100 Foden Road, Suite 303, W. Building South Portland, Maine 04106 207-253-5172 or 800-449-2629